Okavango Diamond Company, or ODC, is a rough diamond marketing company that is wholly owned by the Botswana Government. We offer our global customer base open access to scale supply of the full range of rough diamonds sourced from Botswana. With access to 15% of Debswana's run-of-mine production, ODC is an important supplier to the market with sales in the region of $500 million per annum.

ODC believes in building customer confidence from the delivery of consistent sales assortments through to operating a very open and transparent sales model, with prices set by the market through a dynamic online bidding process. We appreciate our customers' need for efficiency in all their business dealings, which we endeavour to deliver through the service provided by our experienced staff and world class viewing facility situated in Gaborone, Botswana.

Our mandate is to provide the Botswana Government with a direct to route to market for its rough diamonds and to support the ongoing transformation of Botswana into a leading rough sourcing destination. We have a broad and diverse customer base and any company that is active in the diamond supply chain and shares our ethical standards can apply to become an ODC customer.

Our sales are scheduled 10 times a year and are open to participation from all local and international buyers who have successfully completed ODC's registration process. We sell via an online auction following customer viewings of the Sales Lots, which take place at our offices in Gaborone. The following outlines the steps in our sales cycle.

1. Invitation to attend an ODC Sale  

Prior to every auction, all registered customers are invited to view the diamonds available for sale in Gaborone during what is typically a 10 day viewing period. Each customer is able to book a full day of viewing from 8am to 6pm and viewing appointments can be made up to 4 weeks in advance of the viewings commencing, thereby enabling customers to plan their schedules and make the necessary travel arrangements. Where possible we plan our viewings to coincide with other regional diamond sales.

2. The ODC Viewing

Our offices are located in the Diamond Technology Park, 5 minutes from the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. We have 12 well equipped showing rooms, which can each accommodate between 2 and 4 people. Immediately prior to the start of viewings, all registered customers are sent a breakdown of the Lots available at the upcoming sale and detailed information on the profile of the production being offered.

We ensure that our customers are well catered for during their time at ODC by providing refreshments and a buffet lunch that recognises specific dietary requirements, including Jain and Kosher.

3. The ODC Auction

ODC operates a user friendly, secure and fully auditable online auction system that was developed for us by Power Auctions LLC, a leading online auction provider. The type of auction we operate is a Second Price Ascending Clock auction and all registered customers are given training on the platform prior to participating at one of our sales.

All Lots are offered simultaneously in the auction and customers are able to bid on the ranges and quantities of goods that they require. During the course of the auction, bidders are provided with real time market feedback allowing them to make informed bidding decisions. The winning bidder is the one that has offered the highest price for a particular Sales Lot, but under our pricing rule, they only pay the price of the highest losing bidder.

Typically each auction will last approximately 2 hours after which we publish the selling prices of all Lots.

4. Invoicing and Shipping

On the conclusion of each auction, winning customers are invited to nominate which ODC registered companies they would like us to invoice for the Lots they have won. In order to minimise the time it takes for customers to receive their goods, ODC has arrangements in place to ship goods to the diamond centres, where they are held pending payment. All necessary shipping procedures are arranged by ODC with the customer's nominated courier company. Typically, customers can expect to be able to receive their ODC purchases within 3 working days of the auction.

5. Travel Logistics

Botswana is accessible from all major diamond centres. There are in excess of 8 flights a day (Air Botswana, South African Express and Airlink) which connect from Johannesburg. In addition, there is currently 1 international airline (Ethiopian Airlines) which flies directly to Gaborone.

We furnish all customers that require Botswana visas with the necessary invitation letters to expedite the visa application process.

Customers are offered a complimentary pick-up and drop-off executive car service to and from ODC, which can be booked in advance.